1999 Academy Award Predictions…
In this era of compulsive exit polling, it shouldn’t be that surprising that the results of the Oscar races turned out to be, well, not that surprising. But the real question is: do American Beauty’s five Oscars mean that Hollywood will remain obsessed with the dark side of family values, which was dredged up and debated ad nauseum during the Clinton/Starr years? Or do The Matrix’s four Oscars signal a determination that we the audience can best be manipulated through never-ending technical illusion?
Note to residents of the UK and Ireland: Does it bother anyone else that you now have to pay a tax to Rupert Murdoch to see a live broadcast of the Academy Awards ceremony?
Category Most Likely to Win Most Deserving to Win Actual Winners I Missed Completely Best Picture Best Actor Denzel Washington (The
Hurricane) Richard Farnsworth (The Straight
Story) Kevin Spacey (American
Beauty) Best Actress Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t
Cry) Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t
Cry) Best Supporting Actor Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth
Sense) Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth
Sense) Michael Caine (The Cider House
Rules) Best Supporting Actress Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted) Samantha Morton (Sweet and
Lowdown) Best Director Sam Mendes (American
Beauty) Sam Mendes (American
Beauty) Original Screenplay Alan Ball (American
Beauty) M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth
Sense) Adapted Screenplay Eric Roth & Michael Mann (The
Insider) Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor (Election) John Irving (The Cider House
Rules) Foreign Film Under solen (Sweden) Under solen (Sweden) All About My Mother
(Spain) Total Scores 5 predictably accurate predictions 3 actual instances of justice in the universe 4 completely off the mark
Color Key to Actual Results:
Winners
Losers, I mean, honored just to be nominated